Divine Chaos
by Fact Vs Fiction
Summary: A series of unrelated one shots capturing moments in the lives and the relationship of Shunsui Kyoraku and Nanao Ise. First up is ***Ambition.***
1. Ambition

_**Chapter Title:**__ Ambition_

_**Author: **__FactVsFiction_

_**Pairing: **__Shunsui/Nanao_

_**Rating: **__T_

**A/N: **_Okay so this is my newest multi-chapter project for Nanao and Shunsui. It's a series of one shots each prompted by a line or verse of a song by The Script._

_**Disclaimer: **__I do NOT own bleach, Tite Kubo does and The Script own all rights to the song We Cry _

_OoOoOoOoOoOo_

_Mary's ambition, she wants to be a politician_

_She's been dreaming about it since she was a girl_

_She thought, that she'd be the one to change the world_

_Always tryna pave the way for women in a mans world._

Shunsui sighed softly as he watched his fukutaichou work diligently on _his_paperwork. He himself was sprawled out across the floor of the eighth division offices supposedly asleep. He liked watching his Nanao work though and could quite often be found "_sleeping" _as he was now. If Shunsui was anything it was observant.

Right then Nanao was hunched over a stack of forms, the tip of her pink tongue just visible between her lips as evidence of her concentration. Shunsui doubted she even knew she was doing it most of the time. The tongue between her lips meant that she was just working on mission reports, nothing too stressful but a form that was present in a multitude and that required a hand written report of the proceedings. All the seats reported directly to Nanao upon returning from a mission, they'd learned that there was really no point in seeking out Shunsui even if it was protocol. Ise-fukutaichou would just have to hunt them down later anyway…

He watched as she placed a completed stack to one side and pulled another towards her. She read intently for a few minutes before she absently worried her bottom lip, tapping her brush softly. Budget. She always bit her lip while working out the monthly budget. Probably, Shunsui knew, because she was making most of it up in order to hide the eighth's expenditure on sake. Nanao really was a darling like that, as much as their drinking irked her she'd never allow the division get into trouble with Yama-Ji… instead she spread the sake expenditure through all the accounts causing her a huge amount of hassle in order to make them balance. Even as he watched Nanao pushed the hair that had fallen loose from her up-do back impatiently, her stress obvious. She worked for about a half hour on the budget before giving up and dropping it a little harder than necessary back into the incomplete pile before rising.

Now she'd wander over to the window and glance out with a small sigh before leaving for the mess hall where she'd pick up a strong black coffee, an apple, some origini and something containing a huge amount of chocolate before returning to her desk approximately eighteen minutes later and eating while she worked. Sure enough she stepped around him, heading for the window before leaving the office.

Shunsui heaved a tired sigh when the door closed, sitting up and rubbing his face with a large hand. Nanao had faces for all her paperwork, and sadly Shunsui knew every one of them. When she was signing transfer papers her brow furrowed to form a tiny crease, when someone had been injured on a mission her lips turned down, complaint forms made her lips thin with disapproval and dare the kido corps request her transfer _again _she glared.

On one hand Shunsui loved watching her work, Nanao revealed so much of herself while he was meant to be sleeping but on the other hand it made him gloomy, that such a vibrant soul could be reduced to a life of paperwork and monotony.

Shunsui remembered the girl that had joined the eighth division. The vibrant little spitfire who had no qualms in earning her respect by force dare anybody comment on her youth. The old Nanao who had told him straight out that she had every intention of being a captain when she was just two years out of the academy and barely four foot tall.

What hurt Shunsui the most though was that she could've been. Nanao was never one to joke, even back then, and had trained herself to the bone both in kidou and in Zampaktou. She was to this day the youngest soul to ever successfully wield sorcerer's kidou and the squad had cowered in fear at the thought of facing her in Zanjitsu. She worked her way up the ranks at an amazing speed.

She was an icon, back then, an icon to every woman in seireitei. She proved that it was possible for a woman to succeed in the male dominated profession that was soul reaping. She'd single handedly caused the movement that meant that women were _respected _in positions like lieutenant today. Of course Unohana had already been captain at that point but that was different. Everybody looked down on the fourth. Yoruichi had been captain too but everyone knew that was only because she had no brothers, not because her skill was respected. Women were lieutenants to do paperwork and that was just the way it was. Nanao had been a fierce feminist and had changed soul society forever with her quick mind, sharp tongue and huge amount of power. She was set to be the first willingly promoted female captain of the thirteen squads even then as a child… but then everything had changed…

Lisa left.

Lisa had been Nanao's main support system during those years of change. Nanao's outspoken nature had alienated her from most of sereitei's women, all fearing the consequences they could suffer for her voice. Likewise the men of seireitei didn't quite know what to think of her either. Most of the eighth respected and supported her but the fact remained that she was female. The men outside the squad ranged from those who openly supported her to the nobles who despised the idea of a woman holding such power. Nanao had relied heavily on Lisa and losing her had been a huge blow.

It was shortly after that Nanao had been promoted to lieutenant. It had looked like everything was going to be okay… Nanao had bounced back from Lisa's abandonment and everyone was happy.

But years had passed and slowly Nanao had changed. Shunsui hadn't noticed at first, nobody had, but she was slowly pulling herself out of the spotlight. She stopped allowing her voice be heard and even stopped training with her Zampaktou. It was only then that Shunsui had realised what she was really doing. Slowly but surely she was pulling herself out of the running for a captain's position…

It had floored him. She'd worked so hard for this. So so hard and now she was just giving it all up…? What the hell had she been thinking?! Shunsui hadn't been disappointed with her, he'd been _furious_with her for wasting her life. They'd had it out one night, in front of the whole division and when Shunsui finally _finally _pushed her over the edge she'd roared the truth that still haunted Shunsui to that day.

_You need me here!_

The words still rang in his ears even thinking about it now. The division, _this _division had held her back. _He _had held her back. And she'd been entirely correct. They did need her here. He needed her here… All one had to do was look around them.

After that incident Nanao's change had become a lot more rapid. The highly intelligent, highly opinionated, highly powerful woman had shut her powers out and buried her head in her work. Of course news of their shouting match had reached Yamamoto and he'd tried his best to change her mind but Nanao had her bases covered. As long as she didn't train with her Zampaktou she wouldn't achieve bankai and as long as she didn't achieve bankai she couldn't be promoted. She'd made an enemy out of the head captain that day and even now a century later he wouldn't look at her.

Her ambition had fizzled out, her temper forcefully calmed but Nanao maintained that she was happy. Shunsui didn't doubt that she was. The eighth was her family and the squad was fiercely loyal to her. Their loyalty was illustrated by the fact that the Soutaichou still didn't know that Nanao had achieved bankai purely by accident protecting Shunsui himself on a training mission seventy years ago. They just didn't want to lose her…

Nanao was the provider in the division. She may come across as the least motherly person imaginable but to the division that was what she was. She cared for them and she kept them out of trouble yet she ruled with a stern presence. When they were upset she comforted and when they pissed her off she shouted. Shunsui himself was probably the biggest child of them all and he knew that. Nanao thrived in her position though, at least from a more personal point of view anyway. She was far from thriving when stuck with paperwork but when with the division she glowed. She was respected as a captain by their recruits and by most of the captains of seireitei as she was.

But Nanao had become the very thing she'd despised. A paper pusher caring for a lazy male captain in a position that was below her and Shunsui knew that she had to see that. He often wondered how that affected her mentally. Did it hurt her as much as it hurt him to see it? When she looked out the window and sighed was she thinking about what she could have had? Did she ever regret her choice? Would she ever regret her choice? Would she leave?

"Stop thinking taichou you'll hurt your head."

Nanao deftly stepped over her sprawling captain as she shot the barb without thought. Shunsui could pinpoint the moment she realised what she'd said as she turned around with that horrified look in her eyes.

"Sir I'm-"

"Yare yare Nanao-chan it's nice to hear you're still in there every once in a while." Said Shunsui with a grin.

"I meant no disrespect sir-"

"Of course you did and I'm glad."

Nanao opened her mouth to reply but closed it again with a rueful smile pulling at her lips. Instead she just returned to her desk and settled back to her work.

Shunsui reclined back onto the floor, his mind soothed a little. He'd always feel the guilt of holding her back, he knew that, but a leopard doesn't just change it's spots, and Nanao? Well she just camouflaged hers well. Shunsui was on a mission. He was going to bring those spots back into sight. Even if it killed him.

OoOoOoOoOoOo

**A/N: Well that didn't turn out at all as I envisioned it… Oh well… Anyway the title of the next chapter is "Been a while" It has the potential to be quite angsty but I have the feeling it'll be fluffy by the end just like this one… There's eleven tracks on the alum I'm working from which means eleven potential one shots but only if you keep me motivated!**

**Review!**

**Slán**

**Becca**


	2. Changes

_It's been a while since the two of us talked_

_About a week since the day that you walked_

_Knowing things would never be the same…_

Shunsui tapped gently on the doorframe he was leaning against, causing the woman at the desk to look up from her work. It'd been about a week since he last spoke to her, actually it had been seven days, six hours and forty three minutes… Shunsui was keeping count. Oh how he missed his beautiful Nanao-chan.

She looked even more radiant now though as she glanced up, pushing her glasses back up her nose to shield her vivid indigo gaze, her porcelain skin only emphasised by the pure white haori that she wore over her black uniform. Her new position suited her, but Shunsui missed the colour the tarnished bronze of her fukutaichou plaque added to her appearance… Perhaps he was just being stupid. Nanao placed down her brush carefully.

"Hello taichou. Please come in." She greeted softly.

"Nanao-chan I told you it's Shunsui now." He scolded gently. Nanao just shook her head.

Ise-taichou, Captain of the fifth division.

Shunsui still found it bizarre in all honesty. Just over a week previously Nanao had been busy scolding him for blowing the budget on sake again. One emergency meeting later and they'd walked out of the first division as equals, both a little stunned but certain of one thing. They would never ever be the same…

Nanao had protested valiantly against her own promotion but in the end had not been given a choice. Kira-Izuru had been deemed too fragile to take over the third so the duty had fallen on Abari-Renji. Shuuhei Hisagi had taken over the ninth officially. Unfortunately Kira's state meant that the fifth, which Renji had been set to take over was left uncared for. It was a broken division to begin with and Abari's abandonment had been yet another betrayal… So desperate was the Soutaichou that he'd tricked Nanao, requesting she perform the complicated tracking spell on the pretence of searching for an Arranacar in soul society. Nanao had never seen the spell before but was willing to give it a go none the less. Only after she had successfully performed it first time was she informed that it was in fact kidou number 218, a spell restricted by the kidou corps and high enough to qualify her as a captain without bankai. She hadn't wanted it, she hadn't thought allowing a kidou wielding Shinigami take over a division who had been so betrayed by illusion, a branch of kidou, a good idea. It inspired distrust. On a completely neutral level Shunsui agreed with her…

Her arguments however had fallen on deaf ears and Nanao had found herself fifth division captain. The last time Shunsui'd spoken to her was at her congratulatory banquet. She'd almost been in tears…

Yamamoto didn't understand, nobody but Shunsui truly did. She hadn't just been transferred, she'd been torn from her family. Nanao'd grown up in the eighth division, she'd never been anywhere else. She had no real family and had called the barracks her home… She'd been moved without care for her mental state and had been placed in a division that didn't trust her. It just wasn't fair…

She managed a small smile as he flopped down into the chair across the desk from her. They didn't say a word, just sat there in silence, content to have the other's reiatsu so close by. It was only when Shunsui manipulated the power into hugging her and she snuggled down instead of struggling like she normally would that Shunsui decided he needed to check on her verbally.

"Nanao-chan… are you okay?"

"I'm fine taichou. Everything is fine…" Her voice grew tight and she just snuggled further into the warmth. "How is the new fukutaichou doing?"

"He's okay I guess… I miss you so much Nanao-chan."

"Don't you dare chase him away taichou!" She warned.

"I wouldn't dream of it Nanao-chan. How are you getting on… Making any progress?" He asked gently.

"Only with the paperwork sir. I'm afraid it's going to take a long time to earn the division's trust and I fear that if it doesn't begin to form soon the Captain commander may disband the fifth."

Shunsui's instinctive reaction was to think that he'd have Nanao back but on a deeper level he knew it would hurt Nanao even more if that were to happen. If the fifth were disbanded she would take it as a personal failing. Nanao was highly devoted to everything she worked on and that included the fifth…

"I hope that doesn't happen."

Nanao looked up sharply. "You do?"

"It would hurt my Nanao-chan." He said simply.

Not for the first time Nanao marvelled on the man's perceptiveness. He could be so unhelpful one minute and the next understand even the deepest of her thoughts. Her mouth turned down slightly, she should be happy at the chance of returning home…

"Yare yare Nanao you act like that's the wrong thing."

"I want to succeed taichou, I want to build a division but… I still miss home…"

"There's always a place for you in the eighth Nanao-chan even if you aren't working there… You know that. You know the seats really miss you too… The other day they spent the whole evening reminiscing on your childhood… They aren't just going to forget Nanao-chan you know that… Actually they're seriously unimpressed that you haven't been back to see them yet. They haven't had a chance to throw their own congratulatory party." Said Shunsui with a grin.

"Any excuse to drink, taichou." Said Nanao, a real smile forming this time.

"But of course Nanao-chan."

She gave a tiny laugh.

"Come back with me for the evening Nanao-chan."

Nanao pursed her lips.

"Please?" He gave her the puppy dog gaze. Nanao couldn't believe he had the nerve! She sighed. She was falling for it anyway…

"Oh okay."

Shunsui's grin could have lit up the room.

"Lets go Nanao-chan!"

OoOoOoOoOoOo

"Sir I'm quite capable of walking myself back to base." Nanao scolded.

"I know… I want to walk with you though."

It had been a nice night. The seats had been truly delighted to see her and made her swear that she'd never stay away that long again. Like it or lump it these were the people that raised her she supposed… And she had missed them terribly. Shunsui had shocked her the most though. It was two in the morning now yet he was still sober… Nanao couldn't remember the last time she'd spoken to him so sober. Drink didn't really affect Shunsui all that much. He was a happy peace-loving, if a little lazy, man by nature but his intensity while sober startled her.

His eyes were like clear whiskey and they watched her relentlessly. Surprisingly that didn't scare her all that much. The walk to the fifth was a relatively short one, just ten minutes, but a peaceful one my the moonlight. Seireitei was silent, any officer still up and about was in the sake bars of the Rukongai and the night patrols were nowhere to be found. Nanao didn't feel the need to fill the silence and neither it seemed did Shunsui.

Shunsui only spoke again when they reached her door though his eyes never left her for a second.

"Ne, Nanao-chan did you have a good evening?"

"I really did. Thank you, for looking after me like that. I'm not your officer to take care of anymore."

"No you aren't." Shunsui agreed. The hurt that flickered across her features made his heart jump but he pressed on.

"You're my friend Nanao-chan, one of my best, and that's reason enough to look after you without the rest." He soothed.

"What rest?"

He smiled fondly at her, placing a lingering kiss on her cheek before she could stop him.

"Taichou that is not appropriate conduct for-"

"For a captain and their subordinate." Shunsui finished with a slightly smug smile. "But my Nanao-chan isn't my subordinate anymore, is she?" He asked, searching her eyes before placing a soft kiss on her lips.

She didn't stop him.

Releasing her from the gentle kiss he smiled warmly at her shocked look.

"I-"

"Do not have to say anything tonight." He finished, placing a finger over her lips. "I'm not asking for you to profess your undying love like in some silly romance novel Nanao-chan. I just want a chance. Can I have that?"

She nodded wordlessly, his finger still on her lips.

"Thank you." He murmured, replacing his finger with his lips once more. She responded this time but he kept it light and pulled back a few seconds later.

"Goodnight Ise-Taichou." He rumbled.

"Goodnight Kyoraku-taichou." She whispered.

She watched him stride back down the path. When he reached the end he turned and smiled at her once more before disappearing in a flash step.

Nanao brought her fingers to her lips absently, smiling a little uncertainty. Things were never going to be the same but she'd admit she kind of liked where they were going…

She unlocked her door and then stopped, her hand on the doorknob. A frown formed between her eyes.

"Did he just call romance novels silly?" She asked herself aloud.

She shook her head at the ridiculous thought, smiling at her stupidity.

No way.

She opened the door, rolling her eyes at herself.

"Honestly Nanao, one chaste little kiss and he's scrambled your brain already. Romance novels silly!" She muttered amused. "Really!"

**A/N: I'm raiding my documents. Found this and decided to finish it. Nothing amazing, but sweet anyway. Review? Pretty please?**


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